Fraud-preventing device



Dec. 15,1925. f 1,566,033 F. l.. MILLS FRAUD -PREVENTING DEVICE FiledJan. 29, 1925 2 Smets-Sheet 2 'of which the 'following is aspecification.

Patented Dec. 15,. 1925.

UNITED "s'raras PATENT OFFICE.

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Appunti med January sa, 1m. serial no. uns.

' Be it .known that I, FREDL. MILLS, a`

citizen -of the United States, residin at @ak Park, inthe county of Cookand tate of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement-inFraudsPreventing D\evices,

This invention relates particularly to a fraud-preventing device for usein connection with coin-controlled machines. The primary object istoprovide a simple device which will prevent the fraudulent obtaining ofchecks, or coupons, from a coincontrolled machine.

The invention is usefully employed, for example, in connection with acoin-controlled machine of the eneral construction illustrated in thepen ing application of Fred L. Mills, Serial No. 738,831, iiled Sep--tember 20, 1924. 1 The Present-improvement is illustrated in its preerred embodiment in the accompanyin drawings, in Whichi 1 represents abroken vertical sectiona view of 'a coin-controlled machine of 'ithecharacter mentioned, equip with the i improved device; Fig. 2, a broen plan sectional view taken approximately as indi? cated at line 2 ofFig. I; and Fig. 3, a simi- 'lar section taken approximately as indi-vcated at line 3 lof Fig. 1. v l

It is usual, in the type of machine referred to, to employ a stack ofslides, the operation 'of which is controlled by the coin-controlledmechanism in a manner now understood in` the art. The slides areprovided withperforations, or chambers, which register with i 'the lowerend of a 'coupon magazine, or a check magazine, and the slides serve, inthe operation of the machine, to1transferchecks, or coupons, and Ieifecttheir delivery to a discharge chute ywith whichthe machine is equipped.`According to the present invenprovided with a perforation whichregisters,

tion, in the form illustrated, an auxiliar) slide is interposed betweenthe stack -of slides referred to and the passage the discharge chute.This auxi lary slide is normally with the discharge passage whichextends through the bottom `on w ich the 'stack of slides is mounted. Itis secon# leading to i trolled that if an effort is made to cheat themachine by jarring or jiggling the machine, the" auxiliary slide willoperate as a shutter to close the discharge passage. Such jiggling ofthe machine may occur, forexample, when an eort is being made to employfa bogus coin', or.- to employ a penny,

where a coin of larger denomination is requ1red,rto operate the machine.

In the construction illustrated, A designates the casin of acoin-controlled machine which is provi ed. with a base A and whichisl'equippedat its front] With vertical commodity compartments A2* (oneshown); B designates a frame mounted in the casing and constituting 1asuport lfor the coincontrolled mechanism and C designates an ejectingdevice 1 for effecting delivery of articles from the compartments A.

The` coin-controlled mechanism controls,

in av known manner, the operation of a stack of pay-out slides D whichare mounted on a bottom D which is supported at a suitable ydistance.above the bottom of the casing. The bottom D is provided with adischarge passage 1 --whic communicates with the u'p r end of'adischarge chute 2 which exten s beneath the ejecting device C to a tray3 which is open at thefrontof the machine. The chute 2 is equipped witha shutter 2 which opens at the lproper time to permit the contents ofthe chute-2 to pass to the tray 3. The shutter 2 constitutes no part ofthe present invention.

l The pay-out slides D are provided with vertical perforations 4 whichnormally register with the lovverA end of the coupon magazine 5. Thelowermost one of the Aslides D is equipped'with an u turned armactuated" in a well-known manner inthe operation of the machine. i

The pay-out slides have connected 'therewith'a series of coil sprin s 10which tend to move the slides rearwar ly so as to bring the passages,orA perforatlons, m the sllde into registration with the dischargepassage 1. The pay-out slides are latched in their forward position bylocking levers 11 which are mounted on a vertical pivot 12. The latchinglevers 11 normally are held in the latching position by springs 11.These locking levers, or certain of them, may be thrown away from thelatchin position by means of throw-out levers 13 w ich are controlled ina known manner. The pay-out slides are actuated from the bottom Slideupward by means of the springs 10, when the corresponding locking levers11 are released from engagement with the slides.

interposed between the lowermost pay-out slide and the bottom D is anauxiliary slide 14 which is provided with a perforation 14 whichregisters normally with the perforation 1. A spring 14 (Fig. 3) tends todraw the auxiliary slide 14 rearwardly. An auxiliary latching lever 15,pivoted at 15El and equipped with a spring 15b, normally prevents theauxiliary slide 11il from mov ing rearwardly. The spring' 15" is adelicate one; and, in the event that the machine should be jarred, orjiggled, in an effort to introduce a penny, :tor example, past the guarddevices with which the coin-chute of the machine is equipped, where thema' chine requires a coin of lar er denomination, the spring 15b willpermit the latch 15 to move as a result of the jarring action andrelease the auxiliary slide 14. The spring 14:b will then draw the slide11i rearwardly and bring a solid portion of the slide into position toobstruct the upper end of the passage 1. Hence, if a pay-out slide, or aplurality of pay-out slides, should be operated as a result of thefraudulent introduction of a coin of improper denomination, the pay-outslides, nevertheless, would be unable to discharge the checks, orcoupons, through the passage 1, and thus cheating of themachine would beavoided.

In Fig. 2, there is shown a supplemental latching device 16 for thepay-out slides, this device being mounted on a lever 16B. This deviceoperates in a well understood manner, and constitutes no portion of thepresent invention. Other portions of the coin-controlled mechanism areshown fragmentarily. They are well known, and need not be explained forthe purposes of the present invention.

From the description given, it will be understood that in the normaloperation of the machine, one or more of the pay-out slides may bereleased and drawn .rearwardly and will serve to transferuchecks, orcoupons to the upper end of the discharge passage 1. Normally, the slide14 is in such position that the passage 14 registers with the passage 1.If the machine he jarred, or violently tilted, in an effort to cause animproper `coin to pass the guard devices (not arcanes shown) with whichthe machine ordinarily is equlpped, the result will be to cause thedelicate spring 15b to permit the auxiliary latching lever 15 to releasethe auxiliary slide 14, whereupon the latter will be drawn rearwardlyand will then serve as a shutter which closes the passage 1.Consequently, coupons will not be dischar ed into the chute 2 when thepay-out sli es are actuated.

rIfhe foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible in view of the prior art.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a couponmagazine and pay-out mechanism associated therewith, of afraud-preventing device comprising a member set normally to permit thepay-out mechanism, when operated, to efl'ect discharge of coupons, andmeans for throwing said member to an obstructing position to `preventsuch discharge when the machine is subjected to a jarring action.

2. ln a machine oi" the character set forth, the combination of a couponmagazine and pay-out mechanism associated therewith, of an auxilia slidenormally in position to permit disc arge of coupons when the ayoutmechanism is operated, a spring ten ing to move said auxiliary slide toan obstruct* ing pgsition, and an inertia-operated latch mem r holdingthe auxiliary slide normally in the ,non-obstructin position.

3. ln a machine of t e character set forth, the combination with acoupon magazine, pay-out mechanism comprising a stach of pay-out slidesprovided with perforations registering normally with the lower end ofsaid magazine, `and a bottom above which said stack of slides issuperposed, said bottom being provided with a discharge passage out ofregistration with the passages through said slides when they are inregistry with the coupon magazine, and an auxiliary slide interposedbetween said bottom and the lowermost pay-out slide and having aperforation normally re istering with the discharge passage throng saidbottom, a spring tending to move said auxiliary slide to a position toobstruct the passage through said bottom, and an inertia-controlledlatch nlienber normally engaging said auxiliary s 1 e.

4. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination with acoupon magazine payout mechanism comprisin a stack o pay-out slideshaving perforations adapted toregister with the lower end of said magazine, and-a bottom rovided with a discharge passage out of allnementwith said magaq zine, of 1in-auxiliary lslide interposed bemally holdingseid latching- `lever inthe tween said bottom andthe lowermostpaylatehin position, said latching lever-and its out slide and having aperforation normally s ring ing so constructed and arranged 10registering with the passage tlirough said t at the auxlliary slide willbe released when bottom, a'spring tending to retract said auxthe machineis subjected to a tilting and iliary slide, a pivoted latching leverengagjarring action. p

ing said auxilmry slide, and a spring nor- FRED L. MILLS.

